Liberal Arts & Sciences Courses

Introduction to instructional methods and strategies in art education. Exploration, development and evaluation of approaches to teaching, teaching and learning styles, educational materials, media and technologies. Art education majors or art certification students only.

A survey course focusing on the evolution of humankind, the development of culture, and the beginnings of civilization. Required for Anthropology majors.

A survey of the distinctive features of the major world religions and the most studied Native American, African and aboriginal Australian religions. Focuses on the fit between myth and ritual, the problems involved in trying to understand both "from the believer's point of view," and what generalizations can be made about religion in general.

Surveys the human dimensions of climate change from a cultural perspective: The interactions among societies, cultures, and climate change. Reviews climate-change futures and their human implications around the world; drivers of climate change; and technological, social, and cultural mitigation and adaptations strategies. Perspective throughout is universalistic (all human societies, past and present) and holistic (all realms of thought and behavior, though with particular emphasis on social, political, and cultural dimensions).

Conservation is fundamentally a socio-cultural problem. Examines the different types of human/nature relationships that emerge across various cultural, environmental, socio-economic, and political contexts. Through a comparative approach this course is designed to illustrate how culture is an important variable when creating viable conservation strategies. Themes covered in class include protected areas, indigenous and traditional knowledge, resource management, market-based conservation, environmental economics, and political ecology. Case studies: United States, Africa, Australia, Latin America, and Papua New Guinea.

Intermediate treatment of specialized problems in anthropology with emphasis on analysis in frontier areas of anthropological research. Topics vary. May be repeated for credit if topics differ.

Humans are active agents in the physical world and play a pivotal role in its transformation. Consequently, contemporary societies inherit landscapes that are the product of an integrated, long-term relationship between humans and their environment through time. This is of particular interest in the Mediterranean world not only because cultural complexity, urbanization, and the origins of nation-states and empires unfolded over the course of millennia, but also because of the rich historical, archaeological, and paleoenvironmental records that help to characterize this process. This course introduces the ways in which archaeology and other historical sciences can inform on contemporary issues of resource management, conservation and cultural heritage in the Mediterranean in the context of the global change.

Surveys advanced topics on the human dimensions of climate change, including anthropogenic drivers and consequences of climate change, mitigation, and adaptation strategies.

Seminar for students with and without exposure to social science theory at undergraduate level. Brief, intensive review of basic, undergraduate-level, social theory followed by advanced social theory. Emphasis on core ideas relevant to environmental policy. Focus on basic ideas and frameworks rather than minutiae.

Examines different theoretical perspectives on environmental governance through the lens of diverse common pool resources such as forests, fisheries, pastures, water, agricultural systems, and oceans. This course uses comparative perspectives to explore how diverse institutions or embedded cultural practices facilitate the ability of certain societies to self-organize, overcome collective action problems, and avoid a tragedy of the commons at different scales. Provides theoretical insights into challenges and opportunities for commons governance in the context of global capitalism and change. (SMS 553 and ANT 553 are identical.)

A global survey of the visual arts from prehistory until 1400 C.E. This course includes lectures and discussions of the art and life of people across many cultures around the world and across a wide spectrum of history.

Introductory survey of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other forms of visual and material culture in their various contexts from the Renaissance to the present.

Examination and discussion of aesthetic theory and its relationship to the visual arts; study of a wide range of ideas in the development of aesthetic thought with primary emphasis on contemporary theory; application of theoretical systems in the critical analysis of a work of art.

Advanced independent study or research and writing projects in the history of art and related areas. May be repeated for credit.

Entails advanced research and writing projects in the history of art.

The fundamentals of drawing through creative exercises exploring the principles of line, value, texture, space, and form. Examines various media and their relationship to expression and composition.

Students learn the elements and principles of 2 and 3-dimensional design through hands-on practice in this introductory course. Studio sessions include drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, assemblage and construction. Class discussions include topics in Western and non-Western art, critical assessment of work, aesthetics, art media and materials usage. This course partially satisfies the University Core requirements in fine art studio and is a prerequisite to all other studio offerings.

An introduction to the fundamentals of three dimensional design including volume, mass, line, plane, space and time. Uses a series of problems that explore the areas listed above.

A continuation of the fundamentals of drawing in black and white media and the introduction of a variety of color media with continued emphasis on their relationship to expression and composition.

An introduction to the tools, processes and aesthetics of ceramics. Provides students with hands-on experience and understandings of the characteristics and demands of the medium of ceramics using basic hand building and/or throwing methods for the expression of ideas and feeling. Students will learn basic hand building and/or throwing techniques to design, make and decorate vessels and other ceramic objects.

This course will explore the issues of managing a museum or gallery, the curatorial guidelines for collection acquisition and conservation, and concepts of exhibit preparation, design, and installation. The course content is applicable to art, craft, history, science, musical or digital exhibitions and collections. The UMM Art Gallery, Gallery for the Book, and the University Archive and Permanent Collection Room will serve as the lab for this course.

Explores the principles of applied design as used in the production of brochures, catalogues, magazines, newspapers, etc. Exercises in type, layout and issues of technology will be covered.

A thematic and process approach to exploring concepts allowing students to pursue selected individual projects. Introduction to additional materials and techniques.

Further development of painting concepts with emphasis on the characteristics of materials. Individual investigations of technical and expressive issues.

Continued explorations in printmaking with emphasis on color and multi-plate color printing. Lithography will be covered. Intaglio, monoprinting, relief and other printmaking media will be studied on a rotating basis.

Selected topics surveying particular media, thematic content or contemporary issues. Specific topics will vary from semester to semester. Course may satisfy level II requirements in painting, printmaking or sculpture. Course note: May be repeated for credit for 9 completions with a total of 27 credits if topics differ.

Individual and group collaborative projects working with site specific sculpture or installations. Emphasis on process including scale models and other considerations for final presentation for jurying. Prepares artists, engineers, architects in universal commission procedures. Field trips to research existing projects may be included in this course. Repeatable for credit when the student takes it with different media with 9 total completions and 27 total credits allowed.

Continued study of printmaking through a variety and choice of printmaking media. Emphasis on conceptual as well as technical development. May be repeated for credit with a total of 9 completions and 27 credits.

Students engaged in professional activities related to their area of study may apply for supervision and credit for the project. Course note: May be repeated for credit.

Advanced study and research in studio art or related areas directed by a faculty member. Course Note: May be repeated for credit.

A descriptive survey of astronomy including contemporary views of the universe. Topics include the solar system, stars, galaxies, black holes, quasars, and cosmology. May be taken without AST 110.

Acquaints students with varied aspects of the Canadian experience: society, culture, history, native peoples, environment, education, technology, economy and diplomacy. Participating faculty include Canadian-American Center staff, visiting scholars from Canada and the United States, and faculty members from UM Colleges. Course includes an optional field trip to Canada.

Contract work for an external employer. Integrate academic and professional experience. Complete a daily journal and a final project. Eligibility: students from any graduate program whose studies relate to Northeastern Americas.

First semester of a two-semester sequence covering fundamental principles in chemical science presented in quantitative terms. Topics include matter, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, thermochemistry, quantum theory, atomic structure, electronic configurations, periodic properties of elements, bonding theories, and molecular geometries. This course and CHY 123 (taken concurrently) provide the basis for further study of chemistry. If CHY 101 was taken at UMM, credit cannot be earned for this course.